System and method for performing concurrent database operations on a database record

ABSTRACT

A method and system for handling data field tasks, the system comprising a database containing records and data fields associated with real estate ownership expense insurance policies that reimburses for increases in property ownership expenses including increases in maintenance fees and assessments from non-covered losses, an underwriting server communicatively coupled to one or more client devices and data sources over a communications network, the underwriting server comprising a processor that configures processes to the data sources and generates data source connections to receive information from the data sources, and a scheduler that allocates threads within the processes to at least one of the data fields associated with premium for coverage, expenses, and reimbursement of the real estate ownership expense insurance policies, and assigns the threads to tasks for performing operations on the at least one of the data fields based on the information from the data sources.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the priority of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/068,846, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PROTECTING AGAINSTFLUCTUATIONS IN FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS RELATED TO REAL ESTATE PROPERTY,”filed on Oct. 27, 2014, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material,which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The invention described herein generally relates to updating data indatabases, and in particular, employing data field-specific threadtasking for database operations.

Description of the Related Art

Devices such as notebook computers, handheld computers and data enabledcellular telephones permit data synchronization with a differentcomputing device, for example a server computer. Data synchronizationmay refer to the harmonization of data between two data sources suchthat the data contained in each data source can be reconcilednotwithstanding changes to the data applied in either or both of thedata sources. During synchronization, a client device can retrieve dataupdates since a last synchronization from a local data store andprovides those updates to a host device. The host device applies theupdates to the host data store and provides updates since the lastsynchronization from the host data store to the client device.

The client, upon receipt of the host updates, iterates through eachupdate applying the same to the local data store. Once all updates havebeen applied locally, the client device can provide updated mappinginformation to the host device in order to facilitate subsequentsynchronizations. As such, the serial nature of client side updates canrender synchronization susceptible to failure conditions and slowresponsiveness. The processing in the client device can be slow comparedto processing in the server and the network link further can inhibit thespeed of synchronization. Moreover, in as much as the client device mustwait for the completion of the update process in the local data storebefore forwarding an indication of completion to the host device,substantial delays can be incurred where the update process is slow dueto the nature of the client device. Furthermore, such synchronizationfails to account for the reality of traffic transfer with the bulk ofthe update traffic in a synchronization process stemming from the hostdevice rather than the client device.

For example, managing risks associated with real estate ownership,particularly residential real estate ownership, requires data systemsthat can process concurrent changes in data from a plurality of datasources in a timely manner. Condominium and co-op owners faceunpredictable and potentially unlimited liability for unit maintenancefees. Maintenance fees and common charges are considerable monthlyexpenses, and can rise steeply and without warning. Unit owners areliable for the full amount of fees owed upon demand and payment cannotbe deferred (as it could at the owner's discretion for a single-familyhome). Units have limited liquidity and cannot be easily sold to avoidincreased maintenance obligations. Maintenance costs have a directimpact on a unit's market value. Extreme maintenance fee increases canharm unit owners in more ways than the immediate financial stress ofincreased monthly outlays. Higher maintenance fees may also depreciate aunit's value and decrease salability of high-maintenance units, furtherrestricting one's ability to avoid increased costs.

All residential and commercial property owners face uncertain futureproperty tax obligations. Strained municipal finances and spiralingproperty values in certain urban areas (relative to recession-eraassessments) can result in substantial increases to property taxassessments and similar obligations. Owners have little visibility intothe timing or magnitude of changes in tax assessments that canmaterially impact the economics of property ownership. Buildings,communities and tax authorities typically use a fixed annual conventionto determine budgeting and rate levels. Most often, in the case ofcondominiums and cooperatives, a calendar year serves as the basis forbudgeting and billing for maintenance fees and common charges.Additionally, certain non-recurring or exceptional expenses andobligations may arise outside of the typical reporting and paymentcycles (assessments, levies, etc.). For example, a condominiummanagement company may face an unforeseen maintenance obligation(elevator repair, roof replacement, storm damage remediation, etc.) thatmay exhaust available reserve funds on hand, and that cannot be deferredinto a future reporting period and funded via a typical annualmaintenance rate increase.

Ongoing maintenance, fee and tax expenses may generally rise graduallyand thus not cause tremendous financial difficulty for unit owners. Unitowners might not want to diversify this gradual inflation-type risk,unless they are on restricted incomes or are otherwise so inclined.However, every unit owner is at risk of sharp increases from trulyunknown risks that can imperil personal finances and housing unit value.For example, an assessment to pay for a major building renovation orrepair costs for a buckling façade. Building insurance may cover somereconstruction costs, but substantial fee increases would still beexpected, not least because of exhausted reserves and rising buildinginsurance premiums.

Concurrent changes in information from a plurality of informationsources are critical in determining fluctuating costs and, inparticular, increases in maintenance, taxes, and other real estateproperty-related expenses. Thread synchronization mechanisms can be usedto ensure that two or more concurrent processes or threads do notsimultaneously execute a critical section (e.g., task to access a sharedresource) to a shared resource at the same time such as a shared memoryin a database. When one thread starts executing the critical section,other threads should wait until the first thread finishes. Althoughexisting techniques can be used as a means of ensuring transactionsynchronicity when making transaction processing concurrent(interleaving transactions), such mechanisms require tying up more timeand other resources than may be required (e.g., inefficient use ofmutual exclusion devices that cause deadlocks, starvation, and thelike). As such, there is a need for an alternative synchronizationmechanism to support constant data fluctuations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a system and associated methods forhandling data field tasks, the system comprising a database containingrecords and data fields associated with, for example, real estateownership expense insurance policies that reimburse owners for increasesin property ownership expenses including increases in maintenance feesand assessments from non-covered losses. The system includes anunderwriting server communicatively coupled to one or more clientdevices and data sources over a communications network, the underwritingserver comprising a processor that configures processes to the datasources and generates data source connections to receive informationfrom the data sources. The system further includes a scheduler thatallocates threads within the processes to at least one of the datafields associated with premium for coverage, expenses, and reimbursementof the real estate ownership expense insurance policies, and assigns thethreads to tasks for performing operations on the at least one of thedata fields based on the information from the data sources.

In one embodiment, the tasks include database operations. The databaseoperations may include create, read, update and delete operations. Thescheduler is operable to queue a plurality of the database operationsfor execution on the at least one of the data fields on a given record.The scheduler can also assign the threads to tasks for performingoperations on two or more data fields of a given record concurrently.

In some embodiments, the processor can receive real estate ownershipexpense insurance policy application information from the one or moreclient devices and stores the real estate ownership expense insurancepolicy application information in the database. The real estateownership expense insurance policy application information may includeat least one of a duration of coverage, desired deductible, propertylocation, duration of unit ownership, address, property age, propertyconstruction class, property amenities, value of property, unitmaintenance pricing history, property tax rates and assessed values,property occupancy or vacancy, and whether the property is a primaryhome, vacation, seasonal residence, or unoccupied. In a furtherembodiment, the processor may analyze the real estate ownership expenseinsurance policy application information to generate quotes. Theprocessor can provide the quotes as alerts identifying non-coverage ofassessment risk based on property cost-increase risk events based on theinformation from the data sources. The increases in property ownershipexpenses can include assessments from deferred maintenance, wear andtear, capital expenses, water intrusion, settling, and earth movement.The information from the data sources may include at least one ofduration of unit ownership, property location, susceptibility to stormdamage, insurance costs, repair costs, neighborhood and buildingdemographics, average household income within the unit's building andneighborhood, property age, property construction class, propertyamenities, number of units within the building, number of floors, unitpricing history, unit maintenance pricing history, risk exposure,property tax rates and assessed values, property occupancy or vacancy,decision-making authority of applicant in property administrationentity, profiles of condo association members, applicant credit score,and claims history.

In one embodiment, the processor calculates reimbursement for assessmentusing a*x−(m_(c)*r), where a=assessment; x=assessment term; m_(c)=totalmaintenance obligation in the coverage period; and r=retained liability.In another embodiment, the processor calculates reimbursement for annualincrease in maintenance=(i−r_(r))*m_(c), where i=increase in maintenanceobligation in reimbursement year; r_(r)=remaining retained liability;and m_(c)=total maintenance obligation in the coverage period.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is illustrated in the figures of the accompanying drawingswhich are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, in which likereferences are intended to refer to like or corresponding parts, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for configuring computingresources of a computing device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart of a method for generating an exemplarydata set item according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a computing system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates server components of a computing system according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates additional server components of the computing systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method for administering exemplarydata according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Subject matter will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, exemplary embodiments in which theinvention may be practiced. Subject matter may, however, be embodied ina variety of different forms and, therefore, covered or claimed subjectmatter is intended to be construed as not being limited to any exampleembodiments set forth herein; example embodiments are provided merely tobe illustrative. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and structural changes may be made without departing from thescope of the present invention. Likewise, a reasonably broad scope forclaimed or covered subject matter is intended. Among other things, forexample, subject matter may be embodied as methods, devices, components,or systems. Accordingly, embodiments may, for example, take the form ofhardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof (other thansoftware per se). The following detailed description is, therefore, notintended to be taken in a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in anotherembodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a differentembodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matterinclude combinations of exemplary embodiments in whole or in part.

Databases include collections of data stored in computers, servers,mainframes or other computing devices and software programs tomanipulate the data. A database may store and maintain schemes, tables,queries, reports, views and other objects. Databases may supportinternal operations of organizations or support online interactions withcustomers and suppliers. Databases can be used to hold administrativeinformation and more specialized data, such as engineering data oreconomic models. Examples of database applications include computerizedlibrary systems, flight reservation systems and computerized partsinventory systems. Other applications include banking (e.g., forcustomer information, accounts, and loans, and banking transactions),airlines (e.g., reservations and schedule information), universities(e.g., student information, course registrations, and grades), finance(e.g., storing information about holdings, sales, and purchases offinancial instruments such as stocks and bonds), sales (e.g., customer,product, and purchase information), manufacturing (e.g., management ofsupply chain and for tracking production of items in factories,inventories of items in warehouses/stores, and orders for items), andhuman resources (e.g., information about employees, salaries, payrolltaxes and benefits, and for generation of paychecks).

According to embodiments of the present invention, threads within aprocess, such as a database update, are programmed for parallel readingand writing of common data objects within one or more databases suchthat two or more concurrent processes and threads are prevented orinhibited from simultaneous access to a shared data field. Computerprocesses may be allocated computing resources to particular data setswithin the one or more databases. Computing resources include physicaland/or virtual components of finite availability within a computersystem such as network connections, bandwidth, throughput, memory space,and processing time.

FIG. 1 illustrates a flowchart of a method for configuring computingresources of a computing device according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. A process is configured with a given data source,step 102. The process may be executed by a server or other computingdevices and communicatively connected with the given data source toretrieve data to modify one or more data sets. A process includes one ormore threads (of execution) containing programmed instructions that canbe managed to perform a subset of the process. The one or more threadsmay be executed in parallel to perform the various subset of the processsuch as communication with the given data source, retrieving informationfrom the given data source and performing a data operation on the one ormore data sets.

A data set may include a subset or an entirety of records within adatabase. In one embodiment, the one or more data sets may include datafrom a plurality of databases. Data sources may include servers anddatabases storing data that can be retrieved upon a trigger event or ona periodic basis. According to embodiments of the present invention, theserver or computing device may further simultaneously execute aplurality of processes to retrieve data from a plurality of datasources. Each of the processes may be configured to a specific one ofthe plurality of data sources. As such, an update, for example, to theone or more data sets may be partitioned into multiple update operationsand data exchanges. Threads of the process are allocated to a given datafield of one or more data sets, step 104. Allocation of the threads maybe performed by a scheduler. The threads are configurable such that thethreads perform tasks for or dedicated to a specific data field(s) ofthe one or more data sets.

Threads are assigned to tasks, step 106. The threads may be assigned bythe scheduler to perform database operations on records and their datafields such as create, read, update and delete operations. Threads canindependently execute code that operates on values and objects residingin a shared main memory. Threads may be supported by having manyhardware processors, by time-slicing a single hardware processor, or bytime-slicing many hardware processors.

Data from data sources can be used by the threads to access and modifydata in the given data field. A thread can be assigned to detect achange or a trigger event associated with a data source. Upon detectingchange, another thread may query the corresponding data field of recordsin the data set to determine records to modify. A first thread may betasked with reading data in the given data field for records containedin the one or more data sets, a second thread may request data from thedata source based on the reading and receive the data from the datasource, a third thread may compare the data in the given data field withthe received data, and a fourth thread may update the data in the givendata field for the records in the one or more data sets based on thedata received from the data source.

The one or more data sets may contain a plurality of data fields.Whether additional data fields that can be updated via a data source areidentified, step 108. The system proceeds to step 102 to configure anadditional process with a data source. Multiple processes may beconfigured for updating the data fields of the one or more data setswith a plurality of data sources.

If there are no further data fields, execution of the tasks is managed,step 110. Database operations can be managed to execute concurrently ona data field in addition to simultaneously accessing and modifyingmultiple data fields in a record. For example, the first thread of afirst process may be scheduled to read a first data field of a firstrecord while queuing (e.g., first-in-first-out (FIFO) or non-preemptivepriority scheduling) the fourth thread to update the first data field ofthe first record upon completion of the read operation by the firstthread. The first thread may be further scheduled to read a first datafield of a second record after reading the first data field of the firstrecord, then of which the fourth thread is scheduled to update the firstdata field of the second record when the update operation on the firstdata field of the first record is completed. In a multi-process scenariofor updating two data fields, for example, a first thread of a secondprocess may be scheduled to read a second data field of the first recordwhile queuing a fourth thread of the second process to update the seconddata field of the first record upon completion of the read operation bythe first thread of the second process. The first thread of the secondprocess may be further scheduled to read a second data field of a secondrecord after reading the second data field of the first record, then ofwhich the fourth thread of the second process is scheduled to update thesecond data field of the second record when the update operation on thesecond data field of the first record is completed by the fourth threadof the second process. The descriptions provided are merely examples arenot intended to limit the number, functionality and scheduling ofthreads.

When multiple threads can read/write to a single object, it is criticalthat those read/writes be synchronized. Otherwise, one thread mightinterrupt with the execution of another thread, and the object could beleft in an invalid state. Mutual exclusion devices such as locks,semaphores, monitors, and other forms of concurrency control may be usedto further prohibit threads from accessing a same data field.

The field of insurance is an exemplary application where embodiments ofthe present invention may be implemented. Particularly, in computingsystems that support protection and insurance coverage to mitigatespecific financial risks associated with real estate ownership. Broadly,there are three categories of financial risk in any owner-occupiedresidential real estate transaction: the costs of purchasing a property,the costs of owning and maintaining a property, and the costs or gainsor losses of selling the property. Costs and liabilities associated withpurchasing a property (financing a property) can be fixed. An owner whofinances a property purchase with a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage willknow exactly what her monthly mortgage expenses will be for the next 30years, and they will not change over that time. The remaining categoriesof costs are sources of unknown and variable financial risk. Propertiesmay need much routine maintenance and upkeep, or little maintenance.They may be in storm-prone areas, or suffer from unexpected mechanicalfailures or structural deficiencies. They may be required by localauthorities to undertake certain investments to meet building codestandards. They may be in a city experiencing rapid investment thatdrives up property prices and construction costs, and tax assessmentsand maintenance costs along with them. A rise or fall in prices can leadto a substantial gain or loss on investment upon sale of a property. Allof these unknowns present varying levels of financial risk that an ownercannot fix and cannot mitigate.

Systems and methods for providing real estate ownership expenseprotection described herein are intended to alleviate certain ongoingfinancial risks of property ownership by insuring property ownersagainst increases in covered recurring maintenance and assessment feeexpenditures. Real estate ownership expense insurance according to atleast one embodiment of the present invention compensates for ongoingfee or tax expenses for a determined period by transferring risks ofrising financial obligations from the owner and productcontract/policyholder to the policy issuer. Real estate ownershipexpense protection may be embodied by means of a financial product,insurance, rider, option, or contract that ensures monthly coststability and visibility, and eliminates the risk of catastrophicincreases in costs associated with real estate ownership. Condominiumand cooperative unit owners may be covered for maintenance fee andproperty tax liabilities (combined or separate for condominiums,necessarily combined for cooperatives). Owners of homes in communitieswith homeowners associations may be covered for homeowners association(HOA) dues or fees, and taxes. Traditional single family homeowners canbe provided property tax coverage. Institutional owners in combinedapartment/condo/HOA developments may be covered for maintenance/HOA duesand/or taxes.

Real estate ownership expense insurance further provides protection tocondominium owners for assessments arising from items that are notcovered by the HOA master insurance policy. Items that are typicallycovered under HOA master policy include damage from fire, lawsuitsagainst the condominium from a bodily injury, or property occurrencessuch as a weather-related roof collapse. However, other events such asdeferred maintenance/wear and tear, capital expenses, water intrusion,settling/earth movement, and atypical events are not covered. Inaddition, the real estate ownership expense insurance may also coverincreases in common charge maintenance bills and items excluded fromcoverage by loss assessment such as an assessment charged to cover thecost of improvement and maintenance projects where there is no coveredloss (e.g., painting the hallways simply because the association decidedit was time to paint). The system of the present invention may also beused in other fields such as in healthcare, government, banking, andaccounting, to name a few.

FIG. 2 presents a flowchart of a method for generating an exemplary dataset item associated with providing real estate ownership expenseinsurance according to an embodiment of the present invention.Information for a real estate ownership expense insurance policyapplication is received at a server, step 202. Receiving the informationmay include monitoring of an electronic message or signal indicating atransmission of data comprising the information (optionally, in a givenformat) and storing the information in a database or storage device. Theinformation may be useful for issuing or otherwise computing a premium,losses, deductibles, or reimbursement for a real estate ownershipexpense insurance policy that reimburses for fluctuations or unexpectedincreases in maintenance fees, taxes, and other property ownershipexpenses. For example, a property owner (or policy applicant) mayelectronically submit information associated with an application orquestionnaire for real estate ownership expense insurance to the serverfrom a computing device using an electronic user and/or web interface.Alternatively, the information may be electronically transmitted to theserver by an agent, salesperson, broker or an employee of an insurerfrom a client interface of a computing device. The insurer may be aninsurance company, a guarantor, an employer, a private party, agentsthereof, etc., that underwrites an insurance risk and/or the party in aninsurance contract undertaking to pay a compensation. The informationmay include but not be limited to duration of coverage, desireddeductible, property location, duration of unit ownership, address,property age, property construction class, property amenities (swimmingpool, parking garage, etc.), value of property, unit maintenance pricinghistory, property tax rates and assessed values, property occupancy orvacancy, and whether the property is a primary home, vacation/seasonalresidence, or unoccupied.

The received information is analyzed to underwrite a real estateownership expense insurance policy, step 204. Analyzing the informationmay include the server parsing data fields from the information andverifying the information (matching the data fields) such as propertyaddress and ownership of record (to ensure insurable interest).Verifying the information includes activities performed by the serversuch as searching, retrieving, or querying public and private electronicdatabases containing data records that confirm the applicationinformation received by the server. Additionally, analyzing theinformation may include the server assessing risk based on a creditreport and criminal record of the property owner, tax history of theproperty, building and area demographics, building permits, maintenancepricing history, etc. In one embodiment, the server may retrieve andaggregate secondary information associated with the property to assessrisk. Secondary information may include but not be limited to socialmedia content, property transaction history, neighborhood demographics,census information, and geological information.

Based on the analysis performed by the server, an approval decision orscoring of the policy application for an approval decision may bedetermined, step 206. The policy application may be rejected, step 216,if for example, the risk presented by the policy application exceeds agiven underwriting threshold. A rejection message, signal or flag inmemory storage/database may be configured to notify that the applicationhas been rejected. Otherwise, if the policy application is in conditionfor approval, a policy quote for an insurance contract is generated forthe property owner based on the received information, step 208.Generating the policy quotes includes calculating at least one of apremium, a coverage period, losses, deductibles, restrictions, andreimbursement benefit via the server (see Appendix). Variables andequations listed in the Appendix may be stored in data fields for eachrecord corresponding to a policy file. The policy quote may be recordedas a data record in a database and populated with fields correspondingto the calculations. Premium pricing, coverage periods, losses,deductibles, restrictions and reimbursement benefits can includeconsideration and ensuring of both economic return on capital for thecontract provider and risk-based assessments of underwritingprofitability. Factors used in assessment of risk and determination ofprobable loss may reflect assessable factors that are positively ornegatively correlated with loss patterns (e.g., using data and patternanalysis techniques based on the received information or otherwiseretrieved by the server from data sources), including, but not limitedto duration of unit ownership (new vs. existing buyers), propertylocation, susceptibility to storm damage, insurance costs, repair costs,neighborhood and building demographics, average household income withinthe building and neighborhood, property age, property constructionclass, property amenities (swimming pool, parking garage, etc.), numberof units, number of floors (proxy for number of elevators, size ofroof), property/unit pricing history, property/unit maintenance pricinghistory, risk exposure, property tax rates and assessed values, propertyoccupancy or vacancy, primary home, vacation/seasonal residence,unoccupied, position of decision-making authority in propertyadministration entity, profiles of condo association members, co-opboard, HOA, etc., inbound vs. outbound contact or marketing, response toa solicitation vs. actively seeking protection, applicant credit score,and claims history. Generating the policy quote can include determiningexpected losses and residual deductibles such as expected loss fromassessment, expected loss from increased maintenance obligation,expected residual deductible after assessment, and expected residualretained liability. Additionally, reimbursement payment (insured losses)can also be calculated, for example, by determining reimbursement forassessment, residual retained liability, and reimbursement for annualincrease in maintenance.

The generated policy quote may optionally include a delayedimplementation that stays the coverage start date by ‘s’ given number ofdays after a new policy is purchased. For example, a unit ownerpurchases or enters a contract on Jun. 1, 2014 that runs through therest of the year. Coverage (eligibility for reimbursement) would beginon July 1 if s=30, covering the six months of the year after thedeferral is complete. The contract or policy buyer would only pay forthe coverage after the deferral period, or six months of coverage inthis example. In yet another embodiment of a delayed implementation, nodelays would be necessary for renewed policies. Referring to the aboveexample, if the policy holder renewed their coverage for the yearbeginning Jan. 1, 2015, there would be no deferral period.

The generated policy quote may also optionally include matching coverageperiod with reimbursement term for maintenance fee increases.Policyholders electing coverage pay premiums in year 0 to be covered forincreases (in base maintenance fee rate or via assessment or similar)due in year 1. Reimbursement recoverable can be limited to the durationof coverage purchased in year 0. Claims may be paid upon notification ofa maintenance fee increase to the property owner (and to the insurer) atend of year 0 or early in year 1, based on number of fractional monthscovered in year 0. Matching duration of periods dissuades moral hazard;policyholders cannot elect coverage for a single month and get a fullyear's reimbursement benefit in return. For example, a unit owner withmonthly maintenance of $1,000 purchases a contract on May 16, 2014 thatcovers any increase above 10%, or $100 per month. The contract coversthe remaining seven months of the year after a 15-day deferral period,providing financial protection against increases on the $7,000 ofmaintenance ($1,000×7 months) that the unit owner pays for the durationof 2014.

Assessments with notice and/or obligation occurring during the coverageperiod (e.g., after the deferral and premium payment covering theduration of the year) could be considered for partial or fullreimbursement above the retention/deductible threshold, depending on theduration of the policyholder relationship. During the first policy year(e.g., the year in which a newly insured acquires a policy)reimbursement can be limited to the lesser of the coverage period or theassessment term, less applicable deductibles. In subsequent years andwith uninterrupted policyholder coverage, assessments would be eligiblefor reimbursement for the full value of the assessment across theassessment term (and not subject to limited reimbursement tied to thecoverage period), less applicable deductibles. Policies that lapse andare subsequently renewed (months or years later) may be considered to benew policies, and thus require reimbursement limitations tied to thecoverage period.

In an exemplary scenario according to one embodiment, a unit owner withmonthly maintenance of $1,000 purchases a contract on May 16, 2014 thatcovers any increase above 10%, or $100 per month. The contract coversthe remaining seven months of the year after a 15 day deferral period,providing financial protection against increases on the $7,000 ofmaintenance ($1,000×7 months) that the unit owner pays for the durationof 2014. If the purchaser receives notice of a six-month assessment inDecember 2014 of $200 per month beginning in January but the basemaintenance rate stays flat (a 20% increase overall), the contractprovider would reimburse the holder $600 (six months of the residual 10%above the retained 10% deductible). If that policy were purchased onOct. 16, 2014 with a coverage period beginning on November 1, thepolicyholder would be eligible for only two months (the shorter of thecoverage period and assessment term). If the policyholder purchased aninitial policy on Oct. 16, 2013, and subsequently renewed in full forthe 2014 policy year, the policyholder would be eligible forreimbursement covering the full six-month assessment term, as the policywould have graduated from the initial year assessment term limitation.

According to another embodiment, multiple year policies may begenerated. Multiple year policies may be offered that would consider thecoverage/contract election year maintenance amount as the base rate forthe duration of the contract. This could provide fixed expenses over anumber of years (except for increases below the deductible), but mayrequire premium pricing or higher deductible to allow for expected,general maintenance inflation.

Coverage for open-ended assessments may also be offered in a policy.Assessments levied without specified terms or durations (e.g. “a monthlyassessment of $100 will begin on July 1” without reference to an endingdate) could be considered for retroactive reimbursement. Reimbursementclaims could be made at the end of the coverage period for coveredlosses incurred during the covered assessment term. For example, anassessment levied in July 2014 upon a property owner whose coverageperiod runs for the entirety of 2014 could submit a claim for six monthsof reimbursement ($600) at the expiry of the coverage period, if it werenot known at the time of the assessment that the assessment would coverthe duration of 2014.

In another embodiment, coverage for multiple year assessments may beoffered in a policy. Reimbursement for assessments with stated termsrunning greater than one year could be eligible for full reimbursement(e.g., 2 years of the additional expense above the deductible, even ifthe coverage period is one year long), but paid ratably with thecoverage period and subsequent renewals. A policyholder who incurs a2-year assessment may not actually be obligated to pay the entireassessment if he sells his property before the end of the assessmentterm. Reimbursement could be positioned ratably, so that a unit ownerwould receive reimbursement tied to the duration of the then-currentcoverage period. For example, a unit owner with a full 12-month coverageperiod receives a 24-month assessment beginning on Nov. 1, 2014. Theunit owner could claim immediate reimbursement for 12 months of theassessment on November 1. If the owner sells his property in May, hewill have received more assessment reimbursement than the liability thathe actually will have incurred, but he did have coverage for a full12-month coverage period, allowing coverage for the full 12 months ofthe assessment covered by the coverage period. If that policyholder didnot renew coverage in 2015, he may not receive any further reimbursementfor the assessment above his initial 12 months. If that policyholder didrenew coverage in 2015, he may receive further reimbursement for theassessment (covering months 13-24) on Nov. 1, 2015, even if he sells hisproperty on Nov. 2, 2015.

Properties without maintenance fees or dues such as residential orcommercial/institutional tax-only product could still acquire coveragefor property tax liabilities. Such policy contracts exclude increases inproperty taxes arising from policyholder improvements/capitalinvestments. For example, a multifamily apartment building adds a newwing, increasing its capacity and value, resulting in a substantiallyhigher property tax obligation. Such an increase would not be covered,as it would be at policyholder's discretion or direction.

Contracts provide financial protection for property owners coveringspecific properties. If a contract holder sells her covered propertyduring the coverage period, she could be refunded the amount of premiumpaid covering the date of sale through the end of the coverage period.For example, a unit owner purchases or renews an annual contract onJanuary 1, and sells her covered property on July 1, she could bereimbursed for the six months of paid coverage she no longer needs afterthe property is sold. In an alternative embodiment, a property ownercould potentially transfer the contract to a new owner of the coveredproperty.

Like many insurance-related devices, financial protection plans offeringreimbursement for increased financial obligations can be abused or“gamed” by contract buyers. The cost of protection or policy design mayconsider such risks. A unit owner with advanced knowledge (or highexpectation) of a substantial increase in maintenance or a specialassessment could enroll in coverage and receive reimbursement. Forexample, a condo association with stable maintenance costs realizesmid-year that an entire building façade must be replaced, likelyexhausting reserves; or a condominium association board's decision inOctober to levy a substantial assessment in the following year isrelayed discretely to a unit owner. An owner in such situations couldpurchase coverage immediately after learning of such extraordinaryevents and purchase protection in anticipation of those known increases.Another example includes a member of a condominium association boardpushes an initiative to refurbish the building's lobby, a project ofdubious value. The project will require both a substantial assessmentand an increase in the maintenance rate, but the director campaigns forit believing that his financial protection contract will cover hisincreased fees so he can only benefit from the refurbishment. In anotherexample, a single family homeowner builds a large addition onto herproperty. Her tax assessment increases to reflect the value of the newaddition, and she claims reimbursement for the increased taxes that werecreated by her own initiative.

To mitigate such risks, a policy may be created with delayedimplementation (as described above), matching term of reimbursement tocoverage period to limit exposure and align premium collection/claimperiod symmetry, particularly in the initial coverage year.Annually-oriented contracts may be purchased with a single lump sumpayment as opposed to ratably (mirroring reimbursements, which wouldlikely be paid in single installments, and not ratably). Policies may beoffered to cover a full year or the duration of a year as opposed topartial year policies (monthly, for instance) could reduce risk to theinsuring party by increasing upfront payment collection.

New policies may carry higher risks of fee/tax increases as ownersexpecting undisclosed increased costs may seek financial protection tomitigate those costs. Renewed policies may carry lower probabilities ofloss, as continuing subscription would suggest a sustained riskmitigation strategy rather than a one-time loss avoidance effort.Accordingly, new policies could require higher retention rates todissuade initial abuse in first year, when visibility into increases ishighest. Renewal policies could be offered with lower retention orattachment points, rewarding continued coverage from year-to-year.

To further reduce risk of gaming, applicants may be required to disclaimadvanced knowledge of significant increases or knowledge or anticipationof a claim at time of purchase. Policies may also requirerepresentations or disclaimers from contract holders who have distinctdecision-making authority (board members ofcondominiums/cooperatives/HOAs, and single family home-owners). Coverageamong unit owners or decision makers may be restricted such as bylimiting coverage to no more than, for example, 50% of a building's unitowners or decision-making board members to prevent collusion or gaming.

Once a policy quote for an insurance contract including at least apremium or benefit is computed, the quote may be provided to theproperty owner, step 210. Systems and methods according to the presentinvention utilize electronic provision and distribution. The policyquote may be transmitted from a server to a client device of theproperty owner or an insurance agent, broker, or other salespersons byelectronic means such as email, text message, chat message, socialmedia, or provided as an electronic file on a user interface. Providingthe quote may include asking the property owner to submit additionalinformation and to agree to certain terms to complete the policyapplication. In one embodiment, the quote may be provided to propertyowners as an alert identifying that they are at risk of non-coverage ofassessment risk based on certain property cost-increase risk events usedto determine the policy quote.

In a further embodiment, step 210 is configurable to be automaticallytriggered based on information contained in a policy quote that may besaved to cache or another other memory location of the client device ofthe property owner. The information in the cache or other memory may beperiodically updated by the server. The trigger can be set to activate amessage or a flag to generate a message based on an elapsedpredetermined amount of time or a change to the information in the cacheor memory. The flag may comprise data in a browser such as a cookiewhich may facilitate a given website to generate an advertisementincluding the quote for the insurance contract. As such, up-to-datevalues quotes for new policies or renewals may be presented to the userof the client device.

If at step 212 the potential individual declines to purchase thecontract or does not accept the policy quote within a predeterminedamount of time, the policy quote may either be saved in a database, suchas on the computer system described below, for future reference ordiscarded, and one or more of the steps described above can be repeatedfor the next potential purchaser. The policy quote may be valid until anexpiration date that may be determined by the server. A timer may be setby the server to expire on the expiration date while monitoring for asignal of the acceptance of the policy quote. A signal for acceptance ofthe policy quote may be received as a corresponding reply to theelectronically transmitted policy quote. If the quote is accepted atstep 212, the quoted policy may be issued to the property owner at thecomputed or determined premium at step 214.

Steps required to issue a contract may vary. For example, where theinsurer or a party authorized to act on behalf of the insurer transmitsthe information and acceptance of the policy quote to the server, thecontract may issue automatically or at some predetermined timethereafter, e.g., 30 days, etc. If however the transmission ofinformation and acceptance of the policy quote is from an insuranceagent with limited authority to bind the insurer, the contract may issueonly after first being reviewed and accepted by the insurer. In anyevent, if the contract issues, the information received and any otherrelevant information are stored in an appropriate database.

FIG. 3 illustrates a computing system according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. The system presented in FIG. 3 includes client device302, credit agency servers 304, public records servers 306, social mediaservers 314, underwriting server 310, claims processing server 316, andnetwork 308. Servers may vary widely in configuration or capabilitiesbut is comprised of at least a special-purpose digital computing deviceincluding at least one or more central processing units and memory. Aserver may also include one or more mass storage devices, one or morepower supplies, one or more wired or wireless network interfaces, one ormore input/output interfaces, or one or more operating systems, such asWindows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, or the like.

Client device 302 may comprise computing devices (e.g., personalcomputers, mobile devices, terminals, laptops, personal digitalassistants (PDA), cell phones, tablet computers, or any computing devicehaving a central processing unit and memory unit capable of connectingto a network). Client devices may also comprise a graphical userinterface (GUI) or a browser application provided on a display (e.g.,monitor screen, LCD or LED display, projector, etc.). A client devicemay vary in terms of capabilities or features. A client device may alsoinclude or execute an application to communicate content, such as, forexample, textual content, multimedia content, or the like. A clientdevice may also include or execute an application to perform a varietyof possible tasks, such as browsing, searching, and displaying variousforms of content. The foregoing is provided to illustrate that claimedsubject matter is intended to include a wide range of possible featuresor capabilities. A client device may include or execute a variety ofoperating systems, including a personal computer operating system, suchas a Windows, Mac OS or Linux, or a mobile operating system, such asiOS, Android, or Windows Mobile, or the like. A client device mayinclude or may execute a variety of possible applications, such as aclient software application enabling communication with other devices,such as communicating one or more messages, such as via email, shortmessage service (SMS), or multimedia message service (MMS), includingvia a network, such as a social network, including, for example,Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, or Google+, to provide only a fewpossible examples.

Client device 302 is communicatively coupled to underwriting server 310over network 308. Network 308 may be any suitable type of networkallowing transport of data communications across thereof. The network308 may couple devices so that communications may be exchanged, such asbetween a server and a client device or other types of devices,including between wireless devices coupled via a wireless network, forexample. A network may also include mass storage, such as networkattached storage (NAS), a storage area network (SAN), cloud computingand storage, or other forms of computer or machine readable media, forexample. In one embodiment, the network may be the Internet, followingknown Internet protocols for data communication, or any othercommunication network, e.g., any local area network (LAN) or wide areanetwork (WAN) connection, cellular network, wire-line type connections,wireless type connections, or any combination thereof. Communicationsand content stored and/or transmitted to and from client devices may beencrypted using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) with a 256-bitkey size, or any other encryption standard known in the art.

Property owners may use client devices such as client device 302 toapply for financial protection according to embodiments of the presentinvention. Specifically, client device 302 is operable to electronicallytransmit information associated with a policy application tounderwriting server 310. Alternatively, the client device 302 may beoperated by an agent, salesperson, broker or an employee of an insurer.Underwriting server 310 may receive electronically transmittedinformation from client device 302 and analyze the information tounderwrite and generate policy quotes. Analyzing the information mayinclude the server verifying the information such as property addressand ownership of record (e.g., to ensure insurable interest).Additionally, analyzing the information may include the server assessingrisk based on a credit report and criminal record of the property owner,tax history of the property, building permits, maintenance pricinghistory, etc., by accessing credit agency servers 304, public recordsservers 306, and social media servers 314.

Databases 312 may include actuarial information or tables and records(e.g., property maintenance fees, taxes and histories) useful for riskand underwriting evaluation. Underwriting server 310 may further monitorelectronic data from credit agency servers 304, public records servers306, and social media servers 314 to assess risk associated with policyapplications. Credit agency servers 304 may provide credit report dataof individuals, entities, or businesses that are accessible byunderwriting server 310. Credit agency servers may include servers ofcredit bureaus, consumer reporting agencies, and financial institutions.According to one embodiment, underwriting server 310 may monitorelectronic financial transaction data. Loans and financing can suggestrecent capital spending needs and potential near-term investmentobligations. Public records servers 306 is operable to provide publicrecords data such as criminal records, property ownership andtransactions, title, liens, development plans, permit records, censusinformation, geological surveys, and any other information maintained byfederal, state, and/or local government agencies that are accessible tothe public. Social media servers 314 provide user content that may benewsworthy and pertinent to underwriting of a policy such as propertyvalue, maintenance, and insurance trends. Social media information canindicate trends associated with the policy applicant or property to becovered.

Based on the analysis performed by the server, an approval decisionand/or scoring of the policy application for an approval decision may bedetermined. An approval of a policy application may further causeunderwriting server 310 to generate a policy quote. Generating a policyquote includes calculating at least one of premiums, reimbursementbenefits, losses, deductibles, and coverage of policies or contracts bythe underwriting server 310 according to risk. Underwriting server 310may electronically transmit the policy quote to a client device of thepolicy applicant (or agent, etc.) and wait for a signal or electronicresponse of acceptance (e.g., within a certain time period beforeexpiration). If an electronic response of acceptance is received by theunderwriting server 310, a policy contract issues. Informationassociated with the policy and any other relevant information may berecorded as a data record in databases 312 and populated with fieldscorresponding to the calculations.

Claims processing server 316 is operable to receive claims forreimbursement of coverage under policies. Claim event and coverage underpolicy contract are verified by claims processing server 316. If theclaim passes the verification, reimbursement payment may begin beingdistributed to the policyholder.

FIG. 4 illustrates server components of a computing system according toan embodiment of the present invention. Server 310 comprises riskassessor 402, credit verifier 404, public records module 406, propertyverifier 408, events analyzer 410, social media aggregator 412, andpremium calculator 414. Risk assessor 402 is operable to assess risk,develop risk profiles, and/or perform underwriting activities for policyapplications. Data may be aggregated by risk assessor 402 from creditverifier 404, property verifier 408, and events analyzer 410. Creditverifier 404 may be an interface coupled for electronic data retrievalor verification with servers of credit bureaus or financialinstitutions. Property verifier 408 may access property ownership datavia public records module 406. Public records module 406 may be aninterface coupled for electronic data retrieval or verification withservers of federal, state, and/or local government agencies. Thegovernment servers may include databases having data such as criminalrecords, property ownership and transactions, title, liens, developmentplans, permit records, census information, geological surveys, and anyother information maintained by federal, state, and/or local governmentagencies that are accessible to the public.

Events analyzer 410 may also aggregate data from public records serversvia public records module 406 to learn of extraordinary events that maypose a risk of imminent cost increases (maintenance, taxes, etc.).Events analyzer 410 may also receive social media content data retrievedfrom the Internet by social media aggregator 412. Social media mayprovide content that may be newsworthy and pertinent to underwriting ofa policy. Social media information can indicate trends, risk andbehaviors associated with the policy applicant or property to becovered. The events analyzer 410 may use data analytics and/or machinelearning techniques to discover and communicate meaningful patterns inthe public records and social media data.

Server 310 further includes scheduler 416. Scheduler 416 is operable toschedule tasks including retrieving information from external servers(e.g., 304, 306, and 314) and database operations to databases 312. Thescheduler may be part of the operating system of server 310 that carriesout scheduling activity and decides which process (and its threads) runsat a certain point in time. The schedulers may be implemented to keepall computing resources busy, allow multiple processes to share systemresources effectively in multitasking, and to achieve a target qualityof service. The scheduler may further maximize throughput (the totalamount of work completed per time unit), minimize response time (timefrom work becoming enabled until the first point it begins execution onresources), or minimize latency (the time between work becoming enabledand its subsequent completion).

FIG. 5 illustrates additional server components of the computing systemaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. Databases 312 maycontain a data set 502. Data set 502 includes record 504 and record 506.Each of record 504 and 506 contains a data field 508 and a data field510. Scheduler 416 may schedule the execution of threads 516 of process514 and threads 520 of process 518. Process 514 and 518 includes taskssuch as communicating with data sources, receiving data from the datasources, processing the data from the data sources, and executingdatabase operations on data set 502 based on the data from the datasources.

Each process (and its threads) may be configured to a specific datafield. For example, threads 516 of process 514 may be dedicated to tasksassociated with data field 508 and threads 520 of process 218 may bededicated to tasks associated with data field 510. Additionally, eachprocess can be configured to a data source via a data source connection.Data source connection 522 and data source connection 524 may begenerated by server 310 to connect the processes to data sources. A datasource connection may comprise a socket to facilitate communication to adata source over a computer/communications network. Process 514 mayestablish communication with a data source by means of data sourceconnection 522 and process 518 may establish communication with a datasource by means of data source connection 524. Process 514 and process518 can establish a communication connection to either a common datasource or different data sources. The processes may create threads tolisten for data on the data source connections or actively poll the datasources on a periodic basis. Data received by the threads may be used bythe other threads to perform processing and database operations asassigned within the processes.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method for administering exemplarydata associated with real estate ownership expense insurance accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. A notification of a claim forreimbursement is received, step 602. A claim is generally a request ordemand, which is designed to give notice to the insurer regarding anevent that triggers payments, which according to embodiments of thepresent invention, is generally the occurrence of a maintenance fee,special assessment, or tax increase. The claim notification is receivedby a server for an existing policy contract and the claim may includeproof of covered event. The claim may be received from a policy holderin a variety of electronic ways such as through an online interface,email, or through an automated phone system.

Claim event and coverage under policy contract are verified, step 604.Verification generally denotes determining whether or not to providereimbursement payments in accordance with the policy contract. The claimmay be tested with limitations set forth in the policy contract storedwithin a database for which the claim is being exercised, and anycorresponding information related thereto. Verifying the coverageincludes determining whether or not one or more conditions,restrictions, or limitations that do not cause the contract to lapsehave been satisfied, such as determining whether the contract hasexpired or the claim is an ineligible cost that is not covered, etc. Inanother embodiment, verifying the coverage includes determining whetherthe contract is in effect or has otherwise lapsed. This may occur, forinstance, if premium payments were discontinued during the premiumpayment period. If at step 606 the claim fails the verification with theregard to the conditions, limitations, or restrictions set forth in thepolicy contract, the claim will be denied at step 610 and the abovesteps may be repeated for the next or subsequent claims. If the claimpasses the verification, reimbursement payment may begin beingdistributed to the policyholder at step 608.

FIGS. 1 through 6 are conceptual illustrations allowing for anexplanation of the present invention. Notably, the figures and examplesabove are not meant to limit the scope of the present invention to asingle embodiment, as other embodiments are possible by way ofinterchange of some or all of the described or illustrated elements.Moreover, where certain elements of the present invention can bepartially or fully implemented using known components, only thoseportions of such known components that are necessary for anunderstanding of the present invention are described, and detaileddescriptions of other portions of such known components are omitted soas not to obscure the invention. In the present specification, anembodiment showing a singular component should not necessarily belimited to other embodiments including a plurality of the samecomponent, and vice-versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise herein.Moreover, applicants do not intend for any term in the specification orclaims to be ascribed an uncommon or special meaning unless explicitlyset forth as such. Further, the present invention encompasses presentand future known equivalents to the known components referred to hereinby way of illustration.

It should be understood that various aspects of the embodiments of thepresent invention could be implemented in hardware, firmware, software,or combinations thereof. In such embodiments, the various componentsand/or steps would be implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or softwareto perform the functions of the present invention. That is, the samepiece of hardware, firmware, or module of software could perform one ormore of the illustrated blocks (e.g., components or steps). In softwareimplementations, computer software (e.g., programs or otherinstructions) and/or data is stored on a machine readable medium as partof a computer program product, and is loaded into a computer system orother device or machine via a removable storage drive, hard drive, orcommunications interface. Computer programs (also called computercontrol logic or computer readable program code) are stored in a mainand/or secondary memory, and executed by one or more processors(controllers, or the like) to cause the one or more processors toperform the functions of the invention as described herein. In thisdocument, the terms “machine readable medium,” “computer readablemedium,” “computer program medium,” and “computer usable medium” areused to generally refer to media such as a random access memory (RAM); aread only memory (ROM); a removable storage unit (e.g., a magnetic oroptical disc, flash memory device, or the like); a hard disk; or thelike.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the relevant art(s) (including thecontents of the documents cited and incorporated by reference herein),readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specificembodiments, without undue experimentation, without departing from thegeneral concept of the present invention. Such adaptations andmodifications are therefore intended to be within the meaning and rangeof equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching andguidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseologyor terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not oflimitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the presentspecification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light ofthe teachings and guidance presented herein, in combination with theknowledge of one skilled in the relevant art(s).

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It would be apparent to one skilled in therelevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail could be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Thus, the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

APPENDIX Formulae and Definitions

-   Coverage Period=Period for which liability protection is purchased.    Measured in fractional months from the Coverage Start Date to the    end of the Policy Year-   t=Term of the Coverage Period, in months or fractional months-   d=Issue Date, or the date on which a policy contract is issued-   s=New policy stay period, given as a mandatory number of days after    the Issue Date before the Coverage Period begins; will always be    equal to zero for renewed policies-   c=Coverage Start Date, or the date on which coverage begins=d+s days-   p=Policy Year, or the year in which a financial protection contract    was purchased-   q=Reimbursement Year, or the year following the Policy Year, in    which annually-oriented fee obligations and claims are measured-   m=Maintenance, or covered maintenance fees, common charges, or other    annual property-related taxes and levies derived from real estate    property ownership-   m_(p)=Total annualized Maintenance obligation in the Policy Year-   m_(q)=Total annualized Maintenance obligation in the Reimbursement    Year-   m_(c)=Total maintenance obligation in the Coverage Period-   r=Retained liability, or the deductible applicable to the policy,    expressed as a percentage of m_(c)-   r_(r)=Remaining retained liability, or the amount of deductible    remaining at the end of the Coverage Period, after any adjustments    for Assessments incurred, applicable to covered end-of-term    increases in Maintenance-   a=Assessment, or the monthly dollar amount of covered extraordinary    temporary assessments, obligations or levies-   x=Assessment Term=Stated duration, in fractional months, of a    special Assessment notice-   Open-ended Assessment=A special Assessment for which no term is    provided by the notifying entity. In such cases, reimbursement    claims could be made at the end of the Coverage Period for covered    losses incurred during the Covered Assessment Term-   Covered Assessment Term=In the first Policy Year of any newly issued    policy, the lesser of the Coverage Period or Assessment Term. In    successive Policy Years, the Assessment Term-   NP_(c)=Net Premium paid for coverage beginning at time c and    extending for t months through the Coverage Period-   GP_(c)=Gross Premium paid for coverage beginning at time c and    extending for t months through the Coverage Period-   Premium Tax=State insurance premium tax (varied by state), expressed    as a percent-   Policy Fees=Any other non-tax fees levied on insurance policy sales-   i=increase in maintenance obligation in reimbursement year;-   i_(p)=Percentage increase in total annualized Maintenance obligation    in Reimbursement Year above Coverage Year    -   =(m_(q)/m_(p))−1-   i′=Expected increase in Maintenance obligation in Reimbursement Year-   %_(i)=Probability of % increase in Maintenance obligation in    Reimbursement Year-   %_(a)=Probability of Assessment during Coverage Period-   a′=Expected monthly cost of any Assessment-   x′=Expected duration (Assessment Term) of any Assessment    NP_(c)=GP_(c)*(1−Premium Tax)−Policy Fees    Reimbursements Paid (Insured Losses):    Reimbursement for Assessment=a*x−(m_(c)*r)    Residual retained liability, expressed as a percent of    m_(c)=r_(r)=r−minimum of r or ([a*x]/m_(c))    Reimbursement for annual increase in Maintenance=(i−r_(r))*m_(c)    Expected Losses and Residual Deductibles:    Expected loss from Assessment=%_(a)*a′*x′    Expected loss from increased Maintenance obligation=%_(i)*i′*m_(c)    Expected residual deductible after Assessment, expressed in    dollars=maximum of: $0, or (m_(c)*r)−(%_(a)*a′*x′)    Expected residual retained liability, expressed as a percent of    m_(c) (r_(r)′)=r−minimum of r or ([%_(a)*a′*x′]/m_(c))

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for handling data field tasks, thesystem comprising: a database containing records and data fieldsassociated with real estate ownership expense insurance policies thatreimburse for increases in property ownership expenses includingincreases in maintenance fees and assessments from non-covered losses;an underwriting server communicatively coupled to one or more clientdevices and data sources over a communications network, the underwritingserver comprising: a processor that: configures processes to the datasources, generates data source connections to receive information fromthe data sources, the data sources including one or more social mediaservers, and aggregates social media content that is associated with thereal estate ownership expense insurance policies from the one or moresocial media servers, analyzes the social media content to determinetrends, risk, and behaviors; and a scheduler in an operating system ofthe underwriting server that: allocates threads within the processes toat least one of the data fields in a memory location associated withpremium for coverage, expenses, and reimbursement of the real estateownership expense insurance policies, schedules the threads to retrievethe information from the data sources; and assigns the threads to tasksfor performing operations on the at least one of the data fields basedon the information from the data sources, wherein at least one of thethreads performs an operation on the at least one of the data fieldsusing the analysis of the social media content.
 2. The system of claim 1wherein the tasks include database operations.
 3. The system of claim 2wherein the database operations include create, read, update and deleteoperations.
 4. The system of claim 2 wherein the scheduler queues aplurality of the database operations for execution on the at least oneof the data fields on a given record.
 5. The system of claim 1 whereinthe scheduler assigns the threads to tasks for performing operations ontwo or more data fields of a given record concurrently.
 6. The system ofclaim 1 wherein the processor receives real estate ownership expenseinsurance policy application information from the one or more clientdevices and stores the real estate ownership expense insurance policyapplication information in the database.
 7. The system of claim 6wherein the real estate ownership expense insurance policy applicationinformation includes at least one of a duration of coverage, desireddeductible, property location, duration of unit ownership, address,property age, property construction class, property amenities, value ofproperty, unit maintenance pricing history, property tax rates andassessed values, property occupancy or vacancy, and whether the propertyis a primary home, vacation, seasonal residence, or unoccupied.
 8. Thesystem of claim 6 wherein the processor analyzes the real estateownership expense insurance policy application information to generatequotes.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein the processor provides thequotes as alerts identifying non-coverage of assessment risk based onproperty cost-increase risk events based on the information from thedata sources.
 10. The system of claim 1 wherein the increases inproperty ownership expenses include assessments from deferredmaintenance, wear and tear, capital expenses, water intrusion, settling,and earth movement.
 11. The system of claim 1 wherein the informationfrom the data sources include at least one of duration of unitownership, property location, susceptibility to storm damage, insurancecosts, repair costs, neighborhood and building demographics, averagehousehold income within the unit's building and neighborhood, propertyage, property construction class, property amenities, number of unitswithin the building, number of floors, unit pricing history, unitmaintenance pricing history, risk exposure, property tax rates andassessed values, property occupancy or vacancy, decision-makingauthority of applicant in property administration entity, profiles ofcondo association members, applicant credit score, and claims history.12. The system of claim 1 wherein the processor calculates reimbursementfor assessment=a*x−(m_(c)*r), where a=assessment; x=assessment term;m_(c)=total maintenance obligation in the coverage period; andr=retained liability.
 13. The system of claim 1 wherein the processorcalculates reimbursement for annual increase inmaintenance=(i−r_(r))*m_(c), where i=increase in maintenance obligationin reimbursement year; r_(r)=remaining retained liability; andm_(c)=total maintenance obligation in the coverage period.
 14. A systemfor handling data field tasks, the system comprising: a processor; and amemory having executable instructions stored thereon that when executedby the processor cause the processor to: configure processes to datasources over a communications network; generate data source connectionsto receive information from the data sources, the data sources includingone or more social media servers; aggregate social media content that isassociated with real estate ownership expense insurance policies fromthe one or more social media servers, wherein the real estate ownershipexpense insurance policies reimburse for increases in property ownershipexpenses including increases in maintenance fees and assessments fromnon-covered losses; analyze the social media content to determinetrends, risk, and behaviors; allocates threads within the processes toat least one data field in a memory location associated with premium forcoverage, expenses, and reimbursement of the real estate ownershipexpense insurance policies; schedule the threads to retrieve theinformation from the data sources; and assign the threads to tasks forperforming operations on the at least one data field based on theinformation from the data sources, wherein at least one of the threadsperforms an operation on the at least one of the data field using theanalysis of the social media content.
 15. The system of claim 14 whereinthe processor provides alerts identifying non-coverage of assessmentrisk based on property cost-increase risk events based on theinformation from the data sources.
 16. The system of claim 14 whereinthe increases in property ownership expenses include assessments fromdeferred maintenance, wear and tear, capital expenses, water intrusion,settling, and earth movement.
 17. The system of claim 14 wherein theinformation from the data sources include at least one of duration ofunit ownership, property location, susceptibility to storm damage,insurance costs, repair costs, neighborhood and building demographics,average household income within the unit's building and neighborhood,property age, property construction class, property amenities, number ofunits within the building, number of floors, unit pricing history, unitmaintenance pricing history, risk exposure, property tax rates andassessed values, property occupancy or vacancy, decision-makingauthority of applicant in property administration entity, profiles ofcondo association members, applicant credit score, and claims history.18. Non-transitory computer-readable media comprising program code thatwhen executed by a programmable processor causes execution of a methodfor handling data field tasks, the computer-readable media comprising:computer program code for configuring processes to data sources over acommunications network; computer program code for generating data sourceconnections to receive information from the data sources, the datasources including one or more social media servers; computer programcode for aggregating social media content that is associated with realestate ownership expense insurance policies from the one or more socialmedia servers, wherein the real estate ownership expense insurancepolicies reimburse for increases in property ownership expensesincluding increases in maintenance fees and assessments from non-coveredlosses; computer program code for analyzing the social media content todetermine trends, risk, and behaviors; computer program code forallocating threads within the processes to at least one of the datafields in a memory location associated with premium for coverage,expenses, and reimbursement of the real estate ownership expenseinsurance policies; computer program code for scheduling the threads toretrieve the information from the data sources; and computer programcode for assigning the threads to tasks for performing operations on theat least one of the data fields based on the information from the datasources, wherein at least one of the threads performs an operation onthe at least one of the data fields using the analysis of the socialmedia content.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim18 further comprising computer program code for providing alertsidentifying non-coverage of assessment risk based on propertycost-increase risk events based on the information from the datasources.
 20. The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 18wherein the information from the data sources include at least one ofduration of unit ownership, property location, susceptibility to stormdamage, insurance costs, repair costs, neighborhood and buildingdemographics, average household income within the unit's building andneighborhood, property age, property construction class, propertyamenities, number of units within the building, number of floors, unitpricing history, unit maintenance pricing history, risk exposure,property tax rates and assessed values, property occupancy or vacancy,decision-making authority of applicant in property administrationentity, profiles of condo association members, applicant credit score,and claims history.